8 Key Points from the Skai 2020 Holiday SEM Masterclass

Curiosity has the power to help marketers challenge the status quo and make game-changing discoveries. When it comes to making data-driven decisions, curiosity pushes us to get to the why behind the whats, towards better outcomes and visionary innovation.

That’s why Skai dedicated a whole day to the theme in our first fully-virtual summit, CURIOUS 2020. 34 hours of content and 25 sessions later, CURIOUS 2020 has come to a close. If you weren’t able to watch the sessions live then don’t worry – they are now available to view on our on-demand hub in your own time.

Visit the CURIOUS 2020 event page for informative and inspiring video content!

There was so much great content at CURIOUS 2020 that we had to extend the event into the following week with a series of masterclasses that we called EXTRA-CURIOUS.

One of those sessions, The 2020 Holiday Season: A Search Masterclass, had a group of search pros with a combined 30+ years of digital marketing experience together to chat about how the 2020 Holiday season may pan out. They shared ready-to-use helpful insights, experiences, and top tips for dealing with uncertain market trends.

Moderated by Skai’s Director of Client Success, Jim Wasenius, the expert panelists for this session included:

• Yomi Arokoyo, VP, Performance Media Solutions @ Rakuten Advertising
• Ben Jones, Creative Director @ Google’s Unskippable Labs
• Diogo Valente, Sr. Manager Biddable Media @ Kapersky
• Kate DuBois – General Manager, Skai Search

In today’s post, we revisit this session and share some of the deep insights from our experts. Remember, you can watch the recording of this session and other content from CURIOUS 2020 on-demand at Kenshoo.com/CURIOUS-2020.

8 Key Points from the Skai 2020 Holiday SEM Masterclass

Logistics will play a part in holiday shopping this year

Supply chains have been disrupted this year which will dictate the kinds of promotions that retailers can offer based on inventory issues. Also, with more people buying online, shipping times will be slower than usual. This year, more than any other previous year will be less impacted by customer needs and more affected by issues caused by the global pandemic.

So many businesses need their holiday season to go well, so there will be more aggressive promotions

With the terrible financial year that has been 2020, many companies are relying on the holiday season to be big this year. This means search advertisers will be promoting early and all throughout the season instead of waiting for the traditional big days like Black Friday and Cyber Monday. 

The big advice from all panelists is to stay nimble and adapt

Because 2020 has been the year of curveballs, brands need to expect the unexpected during Q4. They should be ready to pivot on a moment’s notice if things change quickly. The holiday season is very short, so search marketers can’t sit on the sidelines if they’re not hitting their goals. They need to actively look for ways to improve things before it’s too late.

Retailers need to offer value-added services to attract and retain customers

Curbside pickup and Buy Online, Pickup In Store (BOPUS) are ways that retailers have attempted to make shopping locally easier. Other examples include offering personal shopping help to online customers and apps that let consumers try on makeup or clothes via augmented reality website and app features.

Be flawless with customer experiences

If a customer has a negative experience with your shipping times or has issues with curbside pickup, you could be hurting your business rather than helping it. If you’re going to go outside the box and offer services that weren’t available pre-COVID, then you need to make sure that they work as intended.

Companies are relying on partners to close the gap

Especially seen in the food category with intermediaries like Uber Eats, Instacart, and DoorDash, businesses that have been able to adapt to the changing market have been able to survive. Brands should be looking out for ecosystem partners that can help them better connect to customers.

What will be hot in terms of gifts this year?

Two major themes are popping up. First, any gifts that can make life at home more comfortable will be big this Q4. Also, gifts that can help parents make their kids happy and engaged during these crazy times will be at the top of many wish lists.

How will search ad messaging change this holiday season?

Retailers will need to help get people into stores because they might be a little worried as COVID-19 spikes here at the end of the year. Messaging that can explain how they’re keeping customers safe in order to entice them to leave their houses will be key. The stores that are able to do this well will definitely reap the benefits. 

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And that’s where Skai comes in.

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For more information or to set up a brief demo to see the platform for yourself, please contact us today.